One warm summer day long ago in Ireland, two shepherds were tending their sheep. The men, Jamie and Patrick, sat down beneath a tree to rest, and before long Jamie fell fast asleep.

When Jamie began to snore, a very peculiar thing happened. Jamie's mouth opened a little wider, and out of that mouth crawled a beautiful white butterfly.

Patrick was mesmerized. He stood up and followed the butterfly as it flitted along a narrow path that crossed the meadow. Soon the flock of sheep was following right behind Patrick, too.

The butterfly fluttered its wings and headed toward the stream at the foot of the hillside. At the edge of the water, the butterfly stopped for a moment.

Then, to Patrick's amazement, the butterfly flew onto a stepping stone in the stream and began to follow a path of stepping stones until it landed on the other side.

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The butterfly fluttered around among the tall bulrushes and past lily pads and moss into the thickest of the bulrushes, and Patrick followed. There he saw, lying on the damp earth, a shimmering white skull.

The butterfly flew in and out of the skull for quite some time, and then suddenly the butterfly flew out of the skull, and followed the trail and flew back into Jamie's mouth.

A moment later Jamie sat up. "I had a most extraordinary dream," Jamie told Patrick. "So real it felt."

"I took a long journey down a wide road lined with hedges green as emeralds, and then I crossed the sea and entered a thick forest, and there I came upon a palace gleaming beneath the sun. Into the palace I walked, and I wandered through, and each room was white and empty. Then suddenly I had a feeling that I must return home. So I did. And then I woke up."

Patrick could not believe his ears. He told Jamie of what happened and led him to the gleaming skull. "There be your palace, mate." wＷw.FaｉＲＹ－ＴａｌＥ．ｉｎFo¤∽تر

Then the two shepherds ambled back into the meadows, talking and wondering at the many wonders of this world.